Patient-specific jig for personalized surgery

Abstract

A patient-specific jig for confirming a correct contour of a fixation element in an operative setting, the patient-specific jig including a jig body having a top end and a bottom end provided at opposite ends of a longitudinal axis of the jig body, and an inner contour guide disposed in a front surface of the jig body, the inner contour guide having a shaped cross-section and being shaped in a contoured curve along the longitudinal axis of the jig body, wherein the contoured curve conforms to a set of patient-specific geometric parameters.

1 - 44 . (canceled) 
     
     
         45 . A method for using a patient-specific jig to confirm a correct contour of a fixation element in an operative setting, the method comprising the steps of:
 manually bending the fixation element using a tool during a patient operation in the operative setting;   accessing the patient-specific jig in the operative setting;   placing the fixation element against an inner contour guide of the patient-specific jig using proper orientation of the fixation element relative to the patient-specific jig; and   confirming by visual and physical inspection whether the fixation element conforms to a contoured shape of the inner contour guide of the patient-specific jig.   
     
     
         46 . The method of  claim 45  wherein the patient-specific jig is provided on a flat surface in the operative setting with the inner contour guide of the patient-specific jig facing up. 
     
     
         47 . The method of  claim 45  wherein the patient-specific jig has a front surface in which the inner contour guide is formed. 
     
     
         48 . The method of  claim 47  wherein the front surface includes a top position marking to assist in the proper orientation of the fixation element relative to the patient-specific jig. 
     
     
         49 . The method of  claim 47  wherein a plurality of bone anchor position indicators are provided on the front surface and wherein the method further includes the step of making a mark on the fixation element corresponding to each of the bone anchor position indicators. 
     
     
         50 . The method of  claim 49  wherein each mark is made on the fixation element using an surgical marker. 
     
     
         51 . The method of  claim 49  wherein each mark is made on the fixation element using a laser device. 
     
     
         52 - 90 . (canceled) 
     
     
         91 . The method of  claim 45  wherein the fixation element is a rod. 
     
     
         92 . A method for treating a patient in an operative setting, comprising:
 obtaining patient data in the operative setting;   manually bending a rod using a tool during a patient operation in the operative setting, wherein the rod is configured to be attached to a plurality of spine segments of the patient;   after obtaining the patient data and bending the rod, comparing the rod to a patient-specific plan in the operative setting, wherein the patient-specific plan is generated based at least in part on the patient data and includes a preidentified desired contour for the rod;   in response to the rod complying with the patient-specific plan, proceeding with the patient operation; and   in response to the rod not complying with the patient-specific plan, repeating the operations of manually bending and comparing until the rod complies with the patient-specific plan.   
     
     
         93 . The method of  claim 92  wherein comparing the rod to the patient-specific plan includes:
 accessing a patient-specific jig manufactured based on the patient-specific plan, wherein the patient-specific jig includes an inner contour guide corresponding to the preidentified contour for the rod; 
 placing the rod against the inner contour guide of the patient-specific jig using a proper orientation of the rod relative to the patient-specific jig; and 
 confirming by visual and physical inspection whether the rod conforms to a contoured shape of the inner contour guide. 
 
     
     
         94 . The method of  claim 92  wherein comparing the rod to the patient-specific plan includes:
 accessing a virtual model associated with the patient-specific plan, the virtual model showing a corrected anatomical configuration for the plurality of spine segments of the patient; and 
 comparing the rod to the corrected anatomical configuration. 
 
     
     
         95 . The method of  claim 94  wherein the virtual model includes a digital representation of a rod having the preidentified desired contour. 
     
     
         96 . The method of  claim 94 , further comprising:
 in response to the rod not complying with the corrected anatomical configuration, updating the virtual model to show a new predicted corrected anatomical configuration.   
     
     
         97 . The method of  claim 94  wherein comparing the rod to the patient-specific plan includes:
 accessing a machine learning model trained on surgery outcomes of spinal rod implants; and 
 evaluating, via the machine learning model, a likelihood of achieving the corrected anatomical configuration using the rod. 
 
     
     
         98 . The method of  claim 97  wherein evaluating the likelihood of achieving the corrected anatomical configuration is further based on predicting one or more of stress, strain, load deformation, fracture toughness, and/or fatigue life of the rod. 
     
     
         99 . The method of  claim 94  wherein comparing the rod to the patient-specific plan includes determining, in real-time or in near real-time, a risk score for the patient using a machine learning model. 
     
     
         100 . The method of  claim 92  further comprising:
 in response to the rod not complying with the patient-specific plan, providing one or more instructions to guide further bending of the rod before repeating the operations of manually bending and comparing. 
 
     
     
         101 . A method for treating a patient, the method comprising:
 bending a rod configured to be attached to a plurality of spine segments in accordance with a patient-specific preoperative plan, wherein the patient-specific preoperative plan includes a corrected anatomical configuration for the plurality of spine segments and a preidentified desired contour for the rod for achieving the corrected anatomical configuration;   after bending the rod, comparing the rod to the preidentified desired contour for the rod;   evaluating, using a machine learning model trained on surgical outcomes of other surgeries to implant spinal rods in other patients, a likelihood of achieving the predicted surgical outcome associated with the patient-specific preoperative plan based at least in part on a conformity of the rod to the preidentified desired contour for the rod; and   in response to the likelihood meeting an acceptable threshold, proceeding with a surgical operation in accordance with the patient-specific surgical plan; and   in response to the likelihood not meeting the acceptance threshold, repeating the operations of bending, comparing, and evaluating.   
     
     
         102 . The method of  claim 101  wherein comparing the rod to the patient-specific preoperative plan includes:
 accessing a patient-specific jig manufactured based on the patient-specific preoperative plan, wherein the patient-specific jig includes an inner contour guide corresponding to the preidentified contour for the rod; 
 placing the rod against the inner contour guide of the patient-specific jig using a proper orientation of the rod relative to the patient-specific jig; and 
 confirming by visual and physical inspection whether the rod conforms to a contoured shape of the inner contour guide. 
 
     
     
         103 . The method of  claim 101  wherein comparing the rod to the patient-specific preoperative plan includes:
 accessing a virtual model associated with the patient-specific preoperative plan, the virtual model showing a corrected anatomical configuration for the plurality of spine segments of the patient and a digital representation of a rod having the preidentified desired contour; and 
 comparing the rod to the virtual model. 
 
     
     
         104 . The method of  claim 101  further comprising:
 in response to the likelihood not meeting the acceptance threshold, providing one or more instructions to guide further bending of the rod before repeating the operations of bending, comparing, and evaluating. 
 
     
     
         105 . The method of  claim 101  wherein bending the rod includes manually bending the rod using a tool. 
     
     
         106 . The method of  claim 101  further comprising determining, in real-time or near real time and using the machine learning model, a risk score for the patient based at least in part on the evaluation.